UFC boss says Frankie Edgar is not going to return to lightweight

LAS VEGAS – While former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar (15-4-1 MMA, 9-4-1 UFC) said he’s not really sure what the future holds, UFC President Dana White said it won’t include a return to 155 pounds.

Edgar headlined Saturday night’s UFC 156 event in Las Vegas, where he was handed a unanimous-decision defeat after five hard-fought rounds with UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo. In traditional Edgar fashion, “The Answer” absorbed damage early in the fight with Aldo lacing stiff jabs and thudding low kicks. But as the fight wore on, Edgar’s non-stop motor propelled him to a late rally that thrilled fans but ultimately fell short.

The loss was Edgar’s third straight defeat after he suffered a pair of controversial losses to current lightweight champion Benson Henderson.

White said he remains an Edgar fan, both as a fighter and a person, and for that reason he wants to prevent the former lightweight champion from returning to the 155-pound division.

“I like Frankie Edgar a lot as a person,” White said. “Take away the whole fighting thing – I like him as a person, as a human being, and I don’t ever want to see him at 155 pounds. The guys are too big and too strong at 155.

“Yes, I know he was the champion. I know he beat legends and had close fights and everything else, but you can only fight so long in those types of wars with bigger, stronger guys. It’s not good.”

Despite sporting a badly swollen eye and an obvious sense of disappointment, Edgar showed up to the evening’s post-event press conference. Considerig his options mere moments after the fight, he admitted he wasn’t sure what would come next in his career.

White said Edgar was more than welcome to remain at featherweight, where he would have to get in a growing line of contenders before earning another title shot. However, Edgar’s camp has recently suggested he might be able to make 135 pounds for the right opportunity.

White said he would be more than supportive of such a move.

“I like that better,” White said. “The lower he goes, the happier I am. I don’t want him going any higher.”